1. The Use of Electronic Resources by Digital Reference Services Jeffrey Pomerantz School of Information & Library Science UNC Chapel Hill pomerantz@unc.edu Tapping the vast reservoir of human knowledge --Louis Round Wilson, founder, 1931

2. Background Evaluation: September 2003 – February 2005 NCknows pilot launched: 16 February 2004 18 libraries during pilot phase Additional information: NCknows: www.ncknows.org Reports at: sils.unc.edu/~jpom/ncknows

3. Evaluation questions Primary: Is collaborative virtual reference an effective way to meet the information needs of North Carolinians? Secondary: How will the project further greater use of existing resources?

4. Evaluation questions Primary: Is collaborative virtual reference an effective way to meet the information needs of North Carolinians? Secondary: How will the project further greater use of existing resources? 1.What resources are provided by librarians to users in chat reference transactions? 2.How well do these resources fulfill users’ information needs? 3.How can the use of these resources be increased?

5. Online resources provided

6. User satisfaction with the answer

7. Completeness & correctness

8. Used appropriate resources

9. Tracking trends Reference transaction is captured & can be emailed to the user & archived by the service. Questions & answers can be monitored quantitatively and qualitatively. What topics are users asking about What resources are being used in answers Reference Extract (beta): digref.org

10. Userwhen did the controversey of gay marriages begin A librarian will be with you in about a minute. [Librarian - A librarian has joined the session.] LibrarianHi, can I help you? LibrarianAre you talking about the current controversy or when it might have come up in the past, e.g I will need to check but I think the current interest was sparked by an event but the controvesy has been going on longer Userno im talking about a long time ago LibrarianThanks, Do you need articles about this for a paper? Useryes LibrarianAre you trying to find out about gay marriages particularly or civil unions? Usergay marriages LibrarianThanks Librarianjust a moment while I check some sources LibrarianI think I found a database that might help. Are you famiilar with the Expanded academic database Userare you talking about elite LibrarianWell that is another similar database from nclive Userwell then no LibrarianOk, well let me check the academic elite to see if it has similar items Userok LibrarianOk in both of the databases you can search under the term same sex marriage and find articles LibrarianThe reason I like the expanded academic is that you can get a breakdown by topics, for examples within same sex marraige they break down by history LibrarianDo you know how to get into the databases? Userno how do i get into that expanded academic database LibrarianOk, I will show you Librarian[Page sent - Durham Tech Campus Library] http://www.durhamtech.edu/library.htm LibrarianFrom the library home page you need to go to databases User[Page sent - Durham Tech Campus Library Databases] http://www.durhamtech.edu/html/prospective/library/databases.htm Librarian[Page sent - Durham Tech Campus Library Databases] http://www.durhamtech.edu/html/prospective/library/databases.htm LibrarianActually on your list the expanded academic is one that is included in infotrac one file Librariando you see it? Useryes User[Page sent - NC LIVE - Authentication Required] http://nclive.lib.ncsu.edu/authhome.phtml?rsrc=128 Librariando you know what to do from this page? Useryes thank you you have been very helpful Librarianyou are welcome Librariananything else? User[Page sent - NC LIVE - Authentication Required] http://nclive.lib.ncsu.edu/authhome.phtml?rsrc=128 Userno thats it User[Page sent - NC LIVE - Authentication Required] http://nclive.lib.unc.edu/authhome.phtml?rsrc=128 Librarianok bye Userbye User[Page sent - NC LIVE - Authentication Required] http://nclive.lib.ncsu.edu/authhome.phtml?rsrc=128 Note to staff:COMP[Librarian - user has closed this session]

11. How to increase librarians’ use of NC LIVE resources 1.Training of librarians 2.Better design of NC LIVE site for ease of navigation & searching while chatting 3.Better integration of NC LIVE databases with the 24/7 Reference application

12. Implications for DLs 1.Different interfaces for users and for librarians 2.Customizable interface with multiple access points for each resource 3.Copyright implications 4.Marketing 5.Tracking resource use

15. Questions or comments? Thank you! Jeffrey Pomerantz School of Information & Library Science UNC Chapel Hill pomerantz@unc.edu

16. Net asker / Net answerer

17. Library card holders